Beverage packaging equipment supplier Sidel (Le Havre / France; www.sidel.com) has developed a PET bottle base for still drinks, which is says is stronger, lighter and cheaper to produce. The 'StarLite' base, which is particularly suited to water and juices, uses two proprietary PET designs: the 'Edge Beam', a groove structure that improves stiffness, and the 'Smart Disc' that reinforces the base to prevent deformation.

Sidel says the base can be retrofitted into existing bottle designs and shapes and into production lines using its 'StarLite' mould bases. All of Sidel’s blowing platforms and output speeds can use the new design, including its 'Matrix' system for liquid packaging, and regular, ultra clean, and aseptic filling solutions.

Tests carried out by Sidel’s packaging experts demonstrated a 30% increase in top-load dent resistance on pallets and up to a 55% enhancement in side-load resistance. The bottle also lasted up to 25 days without deformation in temperatures of 50°, and saw up to a 50% drop in base rollout under frozen conditions. Increased lightweighting possibilities, aided by the base’s compatibility with nitrogen drop technology, and lower blowing pressure also led to significant cost savings.

Vincent Le Guen, Sidel’s vice president for packaging & tooling, notes: “The new base enables you to both reduce package weight and blowing pressure, and actually increase base resistance to deformation."